born 1979 in Opole
A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Mróz was a member of the art group PENERSTWO. Mróz is an author of large, multi-component installations, which consist of silicon sculptures, film screenings and sound elements.
The artist uses caricature and the grotesque in his pieces and the alternative reality he creates is set in an unsettling, surreal atmosphere. He creates a collection of silicon beasts, consisting of deformed human and animal figures and hard-to-define creatures which are set in motion by mechanisms installed in the sculptures. The installations can be classified as abjects – they are supposed to be horrendous, ghastly, degenerated. In this way, Mróz attempts to tackle the issues of the tragedy of human existence in which biological drives and urges are confronted with current ideologies and political systems.
Tomasz Mróz, Gnawed and Licked Breasts on Lingerie Pages, Quelle Catalogue, 2010
Tomasz Mróz’s work is a low elegant showcase with a catalogue of the German mail order company Quelle. Such catalogues enjoyed immense popularity in Poland in the early 1990s and mainly featured advertisements of clothing, lingerie as well as white and electronic goods. Stimulating the desire of Poles for consumption, they were an echo of the Western world, to which Poland was only just opening.
Models in swimwear or lingerie certainly excited the imagination of adolescent boys living in a world without the Internet and access to pornography. The work Gnawed and Licked Breasts on Lingerie Pages… is a grotesque rendition of adolescent erotic fantasy. The title hints at perversion, yet in a micro scale, rather amusing than embarrassing. The small dimensions of the showcase are adjusted to the height of a child, whereas an adult must make a certain effort to view the details of the images.
